Alpaca….hhmmmm…….July 21, 2005

Meditate with no thought of gain.
Expect no ambitions to be fullfilled.
Only then will the inner force manifest
Deng Ming~Dao

In the competitive world, we give expression to our ambitions, shrewdness and aggressiveness.  We must do this to survive.  In the meditative world, we cannot use these attitudes.  What works well on the outside will not serve us on the inside.  If you have no expectations, you will feel the divine.  If you strive and have selfish desires, then you will feel only frustration.
Deng Ming~Dao

My good blogging friend Liz, last week vented a little about the pressures of having a blog be just about knitting.  She was feeling the need to be able to bring forth some of the things that were meaningful outside of fiber in her life and I commend her for that.  Liz is an articulate young woman and her’s is a blog that I never tire of, as her posts are always intelligent and thought provoking.  I embrace her feelings

Today was one of those days that was just long and full of stress.  Life is not all about happiness and yarn zen.  Life is…….well life.  When I opened my little Tao book this evening after a stressful day to find some balance, this little verse just spoke to me enough to take a breath……..and breathe. 

I come from a deeply evangelical family, but I have found the balance of Eastern Religion very soothing (much to my family’s concern).  When I post these little verses, it is not because I am trying to push my views on others, but more because I find solice in them.  Kersin linked to this blog almost a year ago and it piqued my interest enough to purchase the book that I so frequently quote from.  There is something very soothing (there’s that word again) to the thoughts and writings of Deng Ming~Dao and Tao in general.  Sometimes we have to just let go of things……… do the very best that we can, then leave it at the door and let it float down that river…..

The Trek

As that wiley rabbit was not showing any signs of impending birth, I decided to hop in the car and trek over to Vermont with my youngest daughter and fiber enthusiast, Hannah.

I am so fortunate to live in a beautiful spot.  Not the majestic or dramatic scenery of our friends from Utah, but still lovely in it’s own quiet way.  The trip that we took brings us over the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  This was the first picture that I snapped.

Next along our trek was the Willey house.  Although the pictures do not show how impressive the mountain rise above the house is…….it is.  This house is a landmark here in NH.  Many years ago the Willey family lived where this house now stands and a massive mudslide from the mountain behind killed the entire family  If you get a chance, take the time to read the link that I provided…….it is a sad, but fascinating peek into NH history.

As we ventured further into the Mt Washington territory, we passed by the Mt Washington Hotel , which is a Cinderella like hotel and home to our local high school’s proms.

The other is a picture of the cog railway track up the backside of the mountain, if you look close enough you can see the black steam at the top of the mountain.  The Cog is a steam powered train that runs up and down the mountain.  Ken and I took that trip once…..ooooooooh….beware……..it’s one scary ride, but definitely worth the experience!  And there you have a small piece of my world 🙂

ALPACA’S
Our final destination was the home of Snowshoe Farm Alpaca’s.  As I mentioned in a previous post, Terry and Ron Miller were kind enough to winter a bunch of rabbit cages for me.  I was thrilled that Anne had offered them to me, even though my DH is confused as to why I might need them <eviL grin>.

The cages are like new……thanks Anne!!   

The best part of the trek for me was watching the alpaca.  What wonderful, special animals they are.  I can definitely see my animal horizon expanding.

Ok……to appease my DH, I will include that I will be patient…….but how patient can I really be???  I have already been waiting a number of years.  Not much longer dear……..not much longer….how patient can a girl be??

While we were there, this little miss was very uncomfortable with her impending birth.  It looked pretty certain that she was going to have that new little one, any moment……even though Terry said she has looked this way all week.  Unlike bunnies who are pretty darn punctual about birthing their babies (except for my wiley and very pregnant bunny), alpaca’s will go anywhere between 11 and 12 months before they will birth a cria.  Talk about stress…….eekk!

Ken and I will make another trek over this weekend to pick up the rest of the bunny cages.  The weather is supposed to be cool and sunny.  Good company, great animals and fantastic scenery brings promise of a great weekend!

Have a great weekend in your corner of the world~